The Last Chance Motel by Karen Hawkins

Author:Karen Hawkins [Hawkins, Karen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781641971850
Publisher: NYLA

4

Jess

Later that afternoon, her truck window rolled down to let in the spring breeze, Jess rested her elbow on the door and pretended she wasn’t obsessively watching the people leaving Target. A half hour ago, Evan had worn his wrinkled suit into the big store, his wallet at the ready.

The sunlight warmed her face while a noisy bee hovered outside the front windshield, searching for a way inside and too silly to realize both side windows were wide open.

Sleepy from the sun, she leaned against the headrest, the scent of fresh cut grass and sun-warmed asphalt wafting into her truck as she wished for the hundredth time that Evan would hurry. She’d brought him here so he could buy clothes and toiletries and whatever else he needed to make it until Friday. She hadn’t meant to offer to drive him, but he’d looked so un-Evan-like standing there in her lobby with his wrinkled white shirt and creased suit pants, his face darkened by a five o’clock shadow, that she’d folded. And so, here she was.

She was being way too nice to him. Had she any sense, she’d have just left him to make do with the clothes he’d shown up in. After all, he was the one who’d wanted to stay in her motel. But somehow, when he’d asked, before she could think, she’d heard herself agree to drive him here.

“I’ll be fast,” he’d said.

She glanced at her phone to check the time. To be fair, he’d only been gone about thirty minutes. Still…

She dropped her phone back into the cup holder. I’m so weak. But at least I have the safe word. All I have to do is use it on myself. She snorted at the thought. So far, she’d only had to use it once but she suspected she would be saying it to him at least a dozen times before the week was over. I should embroider “rhino” on a pillow and just throw it at him when I need to. Thunk! Right in the head.

The vision was satisfying and she found herself smiling.

A robin flew to a tree beside the parking lot and she watched it hop along a branch, scolding a nearby squirrel. If she was honest—which she didn’t really want to be where Evan was concerned—she’d admit that only he could make a crumpled suit and a lack of a razor look hot. Hot. Stop that. Don’t think of him that way. Don’t think about him at all.

She’d be better off thinking about other men. Men who were the opposite of Evan. Men like the guy who was even now walking through the parking lot two rows away. His jeans rode low on his hips, his flannel shirt hung open, revealing a colorful T-shirt, his broad shoulders and narrow waist a perfect balance. A baby blue Tarheels ballcap cast a shadow over a face with a pleasingly square jaw. Mm-mm. Now that’s the way to wear jeans and flannel—

The man suddenly stopped and glanced around, obviously looking for his car and unable to find it.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.